2024 Anti-Israel protest video from Germany is shared as the one related to immigrants in the USA
After Donald Trump returned to power in the USA, several internal and external policy changes have been implemented, including a stricter crackdown on illegal migration, leading to the deportation of many undocumented immigrants (here and here). Amidst this, a video (here, here and here) has gone viral on social media, showing police entering a train station and detaining a group of individuals, many of whom are seen wearing Arabian scarves. The post accompanying the video claims that US police are rounding up Muslims who do not have valid work permits. Let’s investigate the truth behind this viral video.
Claim: A viral video shows US police detaining undocumented Muslim workers who lack work permits.
Fact: The video is actually from Berlin, Germany, and shows German police dispersing pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Berlin Haupt Bahnhof (Central Train Station) on 20 December 2024. Reports from German and Middle Eastern media confirm that the incident was part of an anti-Israel protest and is not related to immigration enforcement in the US. Hence, the claim is MISLEADING.
Upon closely examining the video, we noticed that the back of a police officer’s jacket had the text “BE 11336 POLIZEI,” which is an identification number used by Berlin police in Germany. Conducting a reverse image search on the video led us to multiple posts across various platforms (here, here and here), all featuring the same footage. The text on the video itself states “Berlin Today 20.12.2024,” and the caption reads: “German police attacked activists in solidarity with Palestine during a demonstration held today at Central Train Station in Berlin.” Additionally, all the posts we found were uploaded around that same date.
Further research led us to several reports (here and here) about the incident, including coverage from German local news outlets and Middle Eastern media. According to these reports, on the evening of 20 December 2024, approximately 30 anti-Israel demonstrators gathered at Berlin’s main train station. The group, consisting mostly of young individuals, sat on the ground holding a large banner that read “Resistance Until Victory.” They were heard chanting slogans such as “Yalla Intifada” and “Don’t Abandon Palestine.” In the images from the protest, several participants can be seen wearing Arabian scarves (keffiyehs).
To verify the location, we conducted further research and found a longer YouTube video titled “20.12.2024 Berlin police clear pro-Palestinian demonstrators from the main train station,” which shows police officers with identical identification numbers patrolling and intervening against protesters carrying the “Resistance Until Victory” banner.
Another YouTube video, “A Day in the Life of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof,” provides a tour of Berlin’s central train station, where architectural elements, signboards, and lighting closely match the viral video. A closer look at the viral clip reveals that the incident took place in front of Einstein Kaffee, located inside the train station. To further confirm this, we looked at Google user-uploaded photos of the location and compared them with the viral footage. There is a clear match confirming that the event occurred at Berlin Haupt Bahnhof.
Additionally, both subjects—immigrant job security in the US and pro-Palestine, anti-Israel protests in Germany—remain hot topics in the headlines. The US has intensified deportations under stricter immigration policies since Trump came to power, sending many deportees to various countries, including India (here, here and here). Meanwhile, protests supporting Palestine against Israel continue to take place in Berlin (here, here and here). However, the viral claim falsely attributes the US job-related crackdown to a pro-Palestine demonstration in Berlin.
To sum up, an anti-Israel protest video from Germany is falsely shared as being related to the job crisis in the US.